$300m World Bank loan not to fund Free SHS - Haruna Iddrisu

Haruna Iddrisu, the Minister of Education, dismissed claims on Monday, July 27, in an interview on Channel One TV's The Point of View, that the government's $300 million World Bank loan is intended to finance the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) programme. He stated, "We're borrowing to expand secondary education infrastructure. Don't forget there was secondary education before Free SHS. We have finished our review; it has come to stay."

His comments followed criticism from the Minority in Parliament, who suggested the loan was being secured to sustain the Free SHS policy and demonstrated the government's inability to manage the economy months after Ghana exited the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. Mr. Iddrisu explained the loan aims to address long-standing challenges within the secondary education sector, supporting efforts to end the double-track system, upgrade existing schools, improve education quality, and expand access. He outlined three key areas: expanding infrastructure, improving feeding arrangements, and enhancing education quality. A budgetary allocation of about GH¢3.4 billion has been made available through the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) in 2026 to address feeding challenges under the Free SHS programme. The government is also working to improve graduate quality by strengthening teacher professionalism, updating curriculum content, and emphasizing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education and information technology.